Krishna Prophecy and the Baha'i Faith

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Hindu Prophecies: Baha'is consider that Baha'u'llah has fulfilled the prophecies of the Lord Krishna when he said:

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Whenever there is a decline in righteousness, O Bharat, and the rise of irreligion, it is then that I send forth My spirit.

For the salvation of the good, the destruction of the evil-doers, and for firmly establishing righteousness, I manifest myself from age to age.(1)

</DIR>Hindus are awaiting the coming of the Kalki Avatar at the end of this present age, Kali Yuga. Baha'is believe that we are already at this time. We are at the end of the Kali Yuga and Baha'u'llah is the Kalki Avatar. This age in which we live is an age of the decline of righteousness. And, as promised in the Bhagavad Gita, the Lord has manifested Himself again, this time with the name Baha'u'llah. This name means `the Glory of Bhagwan' or `the Splendour of Ishvara'. The coming of Baha'u'llah is therefore the start of the Sat or Krta Yuga (Golden Age). It is the time when people will return to righteousness and the world will be at peace.

Baha'is have pointed to the prophecies in the Hindu scriptures and stated that all of these have been fulfilled in this age. There are many passages in the Hindu writings which describe the condition of the world at the end of the Kali Yuga (Dark or Iron Age). Baha'is would say that what is described in the Hindu books is exactly what we are seeing in the world today. Among the most striking of these passages from the Hindu holy books are the following:

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In the Kali Yuga, wealth alone will be the deciding factor of nobility [in place of birth, righteous behaviour or merit]. And brute force will be the only standard in establishing or deciding what is righteous or just.

Mutual liking [and not family pedigree, social status, etc.] will be the deciding factor in choosing a partner in marriage; cheating will be the order of the day in business relations; satisfaction of sexual pleasure will be the only consideration of male or female excellence and worthiness; and the wearing of the sacred thread (Yajnopavita) [and not pious behaviour or Vedic or Shastric learning] will be the outward index of being a Brahmin.(2)

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And also:

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In the Kali Yuga, only one quarter of each of the four feet of

Dharma

[penance, truthfulness, compassion and charity] remains. And that too goes on decreasing day by day while the `feet' of

Adharma

[unrighteousness] increase greatly. So that in the end

Dharma

becomes extinct.

In that [Kali] age, people will be greedy. They will take to wicked behaviour. They will be merciless, indulge in hostilities without any cause, unfortunate, extremely covetous for wealth and women. High social status will be attained by Sudras, fishermen and such other classes...

Countries will be laid waste by robbers and vagabonds; the Vedas will be condemned by heretics; kings will exploit their subjects, and twice-borns like Brahmanas will only think of the gratification of their sexual desires and other appetites.

Celibates [of the

Brahmacarya ashrama

] will cease to observe their vows of study, purity and celibacy; householders will take to begging [instead of giving alms]; hermits [of the vanaprastha ashrama] will resort to villages [leaving their retreats in the

forests]; and Sannyasins will be extremely greedy for money. [in short, the whole system of the Varnashrama Dharma will have broken down.]

Petty-minded people will conduct business transactions and merchants will be dishonest.

In the Kali Yuga, men will abandon their parents, brothers, friends, and relatives. They will establish their friendships on a sexual basis.

People who are ignorant of religion will occupy high seats [and pulpits] and will [pretend to] preach religion.

People will have their minds weighed down with constant anxiety and fear. This will be due to devastating famines and heavy taxation. The land will not grow food-crops, and the people will always be in fear of impending droughts.(3)

</DIR>1. Bhagavad Gita 4:7-8.

2. Bhagavata Purana XII, 2:2-3.

3. Bhagavata Purana XII, 3:24, 25, 30-33, 35, 37-39.

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There are similar prophesies in many other passages of the Hindu scriptures such as the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Vishnu Purana.(4) Baha'is believe that all of the conditions described in these books have come about today. And so we are living in the age prophesied in these books. Baha'u'llah describes the condition of the world at present thus:

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The world is in travail, and its agitation waxeth day by day. Its face is turned towards waywardness and unbelief. Such shall be its plight, that to disclose it now would not be meet and seemly. Its perversity will long continue.(5)

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Prominent contemporary Indian writers have also agreed with this assessment of Baha'u'llah. Swami Vivekananda wrote, for example:

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But greater than the present deep dismal night...no pall of darkness had ever before enveloped this holy land of ours. And compared with the depth of this fall, all previous falls appear like little hoof-marks.(6)

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4. For prophecies from the Ramayana and Mahabharata, see H.M. Munje, The Whole World is but One Family, pp. 32-40; from the Vishnu Purana, 4:24. See also Bhagavata Purana, vol. 12, 2:1-15.

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Thank you for sharing the Baha'i interpretations of Vaishnava Scriptures (which do not speak to all Hindus, since Shaivites do not accept Mahabharata, Ramayana, or Bhagavad Gita). And if Baha'u'llah is an incarnation or 'Manifestation of God for the Hindus of this Age,' the supposed 'Nineth Avatar of Lord Krishna,' Lord Krishna as revealed in the Gita prefers that we worship His form, Shyamasundara (His beautiful form as a blackish raincloud), and remember Him. At about the end of Chapter Nine, Krishna says that anyone who worships His form (as He manifested Himself during that incarnation) will surely come to Him, and of course, Bhagavad Gita 18:66 was very clear.

Also, as a Gaudiya, we believe that when Lord Chaitanya came on this Earth, He gave us the Holy Name of Lord Krishna as Naam-avatara that will bring the Age of Truth. This Naam-avatar, or incarnation of the Holy Name, is the Name of Lord Krishna: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. We believe that the true universal religion is the chanting of the Names of God, whether it be 'Allah' 'Jehovah' 'Yahweh' 'Waheguru' 'Amitabha' 'Al-Abha' 'Ahura Mazda' or 'Krishna'.

Although we are part of Sanaatana Dharma, and are part of 'Hinduism' God consciousness goes beyond our sacraments and Indic-inspired practices. The chanting of the Name of God is blissful and is sufficient in this age for development of devotional love (bhakti). You chant 'Allah-u-Abha' and we chant 'Hare Krishna'. The essence is the same. To us, Naam-avatara is Kalki-avatara, not Baha'u'llah, although He may be accepted as an expansion of Lord Krishna in the form of a God-conscious Man. The Hare Krishna Mahamantra is Vishnu-yasha, or the Glory of Vishnu, not Baha'u'llah.

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Apologies, madanbhakta, for taking 16 months to get back to you but I just saw your post tonight for the first time. the subject we are dealing with is complex and I am no specialist in Hindu religion and its long and fascinating history. But let me add the following to continue a discussion which we can continue into the future if you would like.-Ron

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First let me say a few things about the development of the Baha'i Faith in India thanks to William Garlington. He writes about the first village in India to have many Baha'is, Kweitiopani, located approximately forty-five miles from Indore. Mrs. Shirin Boman Meherabani, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly, visited this small community of tribal Bhils on several occasions over a three week period in late 1960. When she invited those who felt they believed in Baha'u'llah to sign declaration cards (mainly thumb prints) 75% of the village of 200 did so. A similar event occurred in January, 1961, when a special Baha'i conference was held in village Sangimanda in Shahjapur district. Dr. Muhajir was present at this conference, and after his presentation over 200 scheduled caste Hindus (3*) declared their belief.

The events in Kweitiopani and Sangimanda ignited a series of village conversions. Word had quickly spread of the new casteless religion, and as a result there was a call from nearby villages for Baha'i teachers to visit and share their message. In response the National Spiritual Assembly purchased several jeeps and organized teaching tours throughout the rural districts of Malwa. Mrs. Meherabani and her son-in-law, Mr. K. H. Vajdi, were the spearheads of the new campaign which within the year brought thousands of new names (primarily from the scheduled castes) to the Baha'i membership roles. In other areas of India similar rural campaigns were organized with the result that over the next few years national membership figures mushroomed. Whereas prior to these teaching campaigns the Baha'i community in India had numbered less than one thousand individuals, by 1964 the figure was over 100,000. The large increases continued throughout the decade so that by 1973 the Baha'i population of India was reported at close to 400,000 (4*)...If you wouldlike to read more go to:

Baha'i Bhajans: An example of the Baha'i Use of Hindu Symbols

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That's all for now....thank you for your response to my initial post.-Ron